


FOREVER

by GRACECOL83



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Death, F/M, Friendship, Gender violence, Hospitals, Kidnapping, Kisses, New Friends, Tears, True Love, craziness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29597169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GRACECOL83/pseuds/GRACECOL83
Summary: Since she saw him, she liked him, his hostile behavior disguised his true feelings, the new member of the team had something wild and somewhat shy and he loved that, he for his part was intrigued, his blonde partner was an enigma, sometimes he did. He accepted and others rejected him, he felt great pleasure in making her angry, because it aroused her mischief in her and he was always the target ... and thus for a long time they were playing, only when she stopped being his partner was he given the opportunity to risk her heart, where she was forever installed.
Relationships: Luke Alvez/Penelope Garcia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Appointment Agreement

**Author's Note:**

> I am not the owner of criminal minds, all characters are the property of their authors, I do not receive any financial benefit for this, just let my imagination run with my favorite characters.
> 
> Sorry for the mistakes, I'm the one to blame, English is not my language

And the day came, if the day he would meet Penelope ... just 14 days after that silently between surprise, excitement and mischief they made that promise for dinner, Luke felt restless nervous and somewhat anxious he did not know what to expect tonight She has always been an enigma for him and in all the time that he knew her, he felt that for some reason she did not open up to him as with the rest of his friends, it is more at the beginning her treatment for him was very elusive and irritable, quite the opposite to what he wanted; She liked him and that is why he constantly teased her with jokes, he wanted Penelope to lower her guard, meet him and be closer as she was with the rest of the world …… ..

Penelope for her part was intrigued…. The expectation of today's meeting had made him lose sleep these last three nights when they could finally agree on a date. Luke had liked him from the first day she saw him, his beautiful brown eyes his sinful mouth and his body that looked like an erupting volcano from all the heat he displayed ... he had hit her like a boxing glove destabilizing her ground so much that She found no safer way to act than by being evasive and a bit rude… ..

Later over time they began to get to know each other better ... they were more tolerable and receptive to each other although Penelope sometimes showed off her impertinent language with him, just to annoy and challenge him ...... which Luke loved, and disarmed her immediately with her beautiful half smile that melted the very north pole… .. After all this time and how much they had shared as friends she still secretly dreamed of him and he still silently longed to enter her dreams.

From the day after her farewell party, her mind was constantly racing, traveling through all the unknown that surrounded her; Her new job had completely absorbed her, settling in her foreign space, getting to know her colleagues about the systems, even getting to know the city, her days passed between meetings with the team and her bosses, researching and preparing reports, she was now the new project technology manager. For a non-profit environmental company, she was in charge of monitoring everything related to activities that damaged the environment including flora and of course the fauna and because of her declared love for animals, it can be said that she was very passionate in everything that it corresponded to threats against them.

Some nights when she was not exhausted from her work, she contacted her friends, spoke hours and hours with Jennifer and Emily, bringing them up to date with everything and vice versa, she answered calls from David and Spencer her spoiled child, she called Tara to ask her something. From work she needed information on some medical research involving animals and although she could obtain the information only by hacking a few accounts, calling the doctor gave her a little more security on the subject, with all of them she had telephone contact including with Mat whom she called to know more about the medical situation of one of her children because Emily had told her that one of them was in poor health ...... if she had definitely spoken with everyone less with him. Luke was at the bottom of her list but not because it was less important but because she was afraid that he would tell her that it had been a mistake to ask him to have dinner together in a few words or so she believed and did not want to risk it.

Luke suspected that Penelope was avoiding him because of the simple way she responded to the first four messages he had sent her, were they to find out how he was? How did he feel in his new world? and play a little joke on him, but he only received the answer "I'm fine" "work fine" and "now I can't talk I'm in a meeting" at night he responded to his last message with "a long day I'm tired" and some emojis with sleepy face and a moon, she understood and let her rest; The next morning when he shared breakfast with his companions, he asked nonchalantly what they knew about Penelope's life and learned from each of his friends that she had contact with them in the eight days that had passed since their departure; He felt hurt and a little disappointed, he even thought that his invitation had been a mistake, it was very fast, he told himself, she was living new things and possibly the least thing she wanted was to continue being tied to her past ... but she immediately discarded that idea when Mat told her how long it took her to talk to his wife about new vegetarian recipes; At that moment he was aware that what Penelope did not want was to be on his radar, and without a doubt he would respect his decision.

Penelope felt strange, she was in a bad mood, nervous, disoriented and she knew what the cause was. Jennifer had called her that same morning and had told her what had happened at her work breakfast. Her friend had observed Luke's face of disappointment and sadness when everyone they related the content of their conversations with her and how much they missed her… he was the only one who did not contribute anything to the table, he only limited himself to listening carefully and nodding with a slight smile to something comical that they had said; Jennifer was her best friend as well as being an excellent profiler and she could immediately deduce that something was happening so she simply changed the topic of the conversation to work as they were very close to finding the culprit.

She was not concentrating, the office was suffocating her, although she no longer saw grotesque images on her screens, murders, blood and any possible depravity was not found, on her desk there were no longer the quantities of decorative figurines of unicorns, nor pencils with large pompoms She didn't need them anymore, she kept that world only in her old job because she needed to counteract everything she saw, looked for and found to help her teammates catch the culprit ... but now here, she really didn't need her screens were filled with light and beautiful images of nature, natural wonders and the occasional image of the generation of life among animals; However, he kept the anti-stress cat figure that Luke gave him in difficult moments, that kept her in front of his monitor and next to his heart, he had definitely behaved badly with him ... his insecurity and fear had hurt him, now if she he wanted a real chance for his date or dinner or whatever he would have to fix it fast.

Two more days passed and the team managed to arrest the murderer and save the lives of three people. The satisfaction of the duty fulfilled was seizing them ...... they were at least five hours away from arriving in Virginia Emily had informed them that due to the extension of the case they would have three days off if there was no emergency; everyone celebrated the provisions especially Luke was exhausted he had the hard part of chasing the suspect and once reached he had to battle with him, he was bruised, sore and tired after the group breakfast he forced himself to focus on the case, they had lives to rescue safe and sound could not be distracted and so it was.  
He came home, greeted his faithful friend Roxi and got ready to wash he needed it without fail, once in bed no more than ten minutes passed when Luke had a smooth and level breathing, his body had relaxed once his head He had touched the pillow and fell asleep thinking that tomorrow would be a very good day to think about what to do with his life.

Penelope knew they were already at home, her family was safe, calm and resting again, she was in a strange bed that was not hers that night she had to stay in a hotel because the scheduled meetings were extended more than necessary in fact She received the arrival message from her friends in the middle of the meeting, she could not reply to Jennifer immediately and now it was too late to do so, quite possibly tomorrow she would have to occupy that room again and she was grateful for the life that continued with the habit of always carrying a bag with enough clothes for change, she owed that to her old job.  
She was tired but satisfied, she had already finished reviewing the opinions of her colleagues and had expressed the idea to present tomorrow, it was two in the morning and she had managed to get the report, she would not take her night shower, she did not want to risk a cold so she pushed and got to bed but not before checking his cell phone and checking that he actually had no messages from Luke.


	2. LIVING THE CHANGE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when you face change? You assume it or you let yourself be hit, Penelope discovering new things and Luke living the same thing but without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, as I do not know the English language very well, I would like to know if the story I am writing is coherent, I am sorry for the errors that the writing has

Her alarm woke her up very early, it was 5 AM she was misplaced until she remembered where she was, and she got mad at herself for not having changed the alarm time…. That was her usual time but when she had to go from her home to work she had to drive at least seventy minutes with normal speed, but actually most of the time she traveled as far as possible to arrive on time, now she had to give Example punctuality aside from the fact that she was starting and always the first impression is what counts. Even so, her heavy eyelids overcame her and again she fell deep into Morpheus's arms.  
Luke woke up hugging his pillow feeling Roxi's affection on his face ... his friend informed him how she knew he should take her for a walk, so he really got up very rested, he had slept all night and had dreamed but did not remember that he had been, very diligently she changed and went out for a little morning walk with her friend, they got lost in the forest enjoying the breeze and the scenery, they met several people exercising, several of them known just doing their sports activities ... . He joined a group of students on their walk who were fascinated with Roxi and he was proud of his pet life companion and his friend, after a long walk they returned home, took a shower and prepared meals for him and for your dog planning what to do during the day; he was determined to expel the blonde woman from his thoughts at any cost ...... in the end he joined Spencer in a lecture he would give at the university for the third year class of criminologists, he said he could remember and contribute to her. Something to his friend's class although he was not sure that he would allow it. And so it was only allowed him to be a listener without participation ... he had enough information advantage in relation to his students and he understood that ... After they went to eat he was having fun sharing with Spencer outside of work although they were colleagues and friends. Young genius shared very little with his team outside of work due to his need to study there was only one person in the world who managed to get him out of his comfort bliss and that was Penelope. Heck, he almost succeeded, he had decided to ignore her and he had almost succeeded now he knew that her mere reference would lead him down a path that he did not want to travel ... Oh God, a long and crazy night was waiting for him; He just begged not to gather his strength and show up at her door.  
Penelope spent a hectic day, her first meeting and project presentation went very well, her team was happy and grateful to her for the way she had approached the topic to be discussed, leaving no room or doubt for the managers to object to her ideas, in fact this first work was practically approved immediately and was something to celebrate; She went out to dinner and had a drink with them, she wanted to meet them and for them to meet her, and they deserved it without their ideas they would not have achieved success.  
She realized that her classmates were surprised when she chose her food, the truth was that her plump figure did not reveal that she was a vegetarian, she was more certain that several thought that she ate like crazy but really that did not displease her, they were nice people and many were waiting for them. surprises; After dinner they went to a bar to have a few drinks, they would have to work tomorrow and it was midweek, her team is made up of five people apart from her three men and two women of whom she learned that two of the men They were already married without children and one of the women was equally married but with 2 beautiful children of three and five years, and the rest of the team including her were single, a situation that led her to think of Luke for the first time in the day.  
When she got to his hotel and after doing all his cleaning routine she crawled under the covers and was tempted to check his phone only to be disappointed another night, he had several messages to read but none of him; he was definitely punishing her and he knew he deserved it he had to act fast if he wanted to at least preserve their friendship even though she wanted much more, but it wouldn't be tonight.  
The break did not last two days, returning from her walk she received Anita's message about the new technique in the system summoning them all, they had a new case so she quickly got organized, groomed, left for the office and on the way delivered her dog to his caregiver informing him that he had a new case but did not know how long it would take this time; He was waiting alone for the elevator and he smiled when he remembered when he was in the building he was always with her, in the morning, at night, or both in the same day, he saw it so natural and he never accepted that he squared his schedule with that of the woman, who wasted her time in the afternoons to wait for her or who waited in the parking lot in the mornings until she arrived to make her believe that they were aligned by coinciding all the time, that memory drew a mischievous smile on her face and she realized that he had never met his replacement in the elevator; finally Matt and Jennifer did not go up alone, they reached the time when he entered the elevator and returned to reality.  
Emily presented the case, she was local, they aspired to have no complications and to make the most of it in two days to resume her rest, it was not that she complained but after 10 exhausted days of work, a single day was not enough for the team to recover, besides They did not have Penelope's fabulous jokes or her wild comments that brightened the atmosphere nor did they have their magic cave where everyone had once come to relax, there were no longer the mermaids, unicorns, flowers and butterflies that adorned their enclosure, it was simply gone she.  
Very excited Penelope arrived at work, the whole team was already gathered to start, they had a free pass for their project, she had found an email giving carte blanche for them to start as soon as possible and that would be so, she defined responsibilities and obligations and got ready to call Some service providers had to advance as much as possible because she had to return home, there were many pending things waiting for her, some more important than others but that did not wait ... she decided that she would contact Luke from the comfort of her home, but first she would call Jennifer had to get as much information as possible these days ...  
Everything worked out for him at two in the afternoon, he had already established contact with the managers and scheduled a meeting for Friday at nine in the morning, practically his work obligation for the day was over but he did not want to leave so early anticipating that his colleagues may need collaboration, she started to call her friend as she had already decided, however after three attempts Jennifer did not answer her which seemed strange because what her friend had is that she responded immediately and when she could not she would send her a message but she had waited and received no response of any kind.  
I chose to call Emily, her old friend and former boss, who did receive the call and informed her that they were in a case again but that this time it was local and that Jennifer was with Matt and Luke in an area with no signal so she did not worry that they were Well, I talk very little with her because she understood that she was working and said goodbye not before agreeing that they should meet and have a girls' night.  
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon he decided to start his trip back home, he would arrive in about an hour long he wanted to rest in his bed he missed her too much…. In addition, a night of internal fighting awaited her now that she knew that Luke was back in a case and she was not sure whether to contact him that night.  
The trip was comfortable, she did not have any inconvenience on the way, she had decided to keep her apartment in which she had lived for more than 10 years because it was simply her home, she would arrive exhausted from the office and drive more than an hour in the morning and at the Later it was not that he liked much but that had been his choice he did not want to get away from his friends who were his real family, his four brothers lived in California, he loved them and would do anything for them but they were not by his side, The happy, happy, sad, painful and even anguished moments he had shared and lived with his friends, that is why they were his family, after thinking and thinking and thinking again he finally decided to send a message to Luke he waited for long time his answer and so he fell asleep.  
Although it was a local case, it was no less demanding than the previous one, he was full of mud, tired and in a bad mood, things did not go the way he wanted, although the subject was discharged, he took a new victim, a A woman no more than thirty years old in the prime of her life and a madman had taken her away and the worst thing he and his group had not been able to stop him before, the mood of his colleagues was the same as his, they were on their way to the office to register and to deliver the report later they would have a meeting with the boss, when Jennifer coincidentally commented that she had a number of calls ... they had spent more than 10 hours without any communication, just trusting instincts, she looked at him but addressed everyone in the vehicle I have three calls from Penelope, what a pity it is so late tomorrow I call her we have to catch up with her news I hope she tells me that she has prospects to get the love of her life ... Luke simply clenched his jaw and nodded, Matt He directed a curious look and that silently told him that you are waiting Man? Jennifer for her part only smiled, she knew well that she had sown doubt, the rest of the way was calm and practically in silence they carried the distaste of a victim at the end of the case and Luke was grateful for having run out of batteries in his phone so as not to fall into temptation to call her. 

Three hours later it was already two in the morning ... he was ready to rest in his bed when he remembered the state of his cell phone and decided to connect it, with his work he could not be isolated and once he did it and turned it on, messages began to arrive as rain he had decided not to check them but even though he was exhausted he couldn't sleep; scrolling the screen of the device at the end he saw the name of a person as the sender and knew that he would definitely not sleep tonight.


	3. MESSAGES THAT COME AND GO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you think of something more romantic than love letters? ..... No, not really, but if text messages are very close, they also fall in love and even more so if they are so flirtatious.

Penelope was hugging herself like many other nights, in the end, after having tried more times than she remembered, she finally had the courage to write to him, she decided on a few unpretentious simple words. She wanted to measure the ground she was treading on, “¿¿ HELLO LUKE, HOW ARE YOU? WHEN YOU CAN TALK, LET ME KNOW”, he could ask about the status of his appointment, but he did not. It was a coward that I passed the decision to him, that he be the one to decide if he wanted to continue in contact with her instead of risking and asking directly.  
The message was delivered but not read, waiting for an answer she fell fast asleep…. Not before leaving the phone very close to your heart in the hope of feeling any change or movement in the device; Luke did not know what to think, he was like a true fool reading and rereading Penelope's message, definitely this woman was very insightful after days of silence, of ignoring him, of practically canceling it, there he was taking the control that she had finally given him, a smile of longing adorned his face all the fatigue had disappeared he was in a frenzy of thoughts, his imagination was everywhere he did not know what to answer, he knew what he wanted, he wanted her, not from now as always he believed that from the first day in which he saw her, But now he was so excited that he did not know what to answer, he knew Penelope knew that he liked challenges he would simply dare to throw one at her and he hoped for God he was not wrong.  
She woke up hours later not because of the message but because of the alarm on her phone that told her it was time to get ready to go to work, she was so lost in her sleep that she had forgotten the answer she was waiting for and for which she had gone to bed. so late …… 10 minutes later the horrible device rang again, forcing her to get up to start her cleaning routine…. In the middle of the shower and with his mind clear he remembered the message and panicked, he hurried with his bath, he needed to know ... Once he was out he decided that the best thing was to get ready for work ... if he had a message from Luke she would leave it to review at lunchtime she knew that if she read it now it would block her all morning and she needed to be focused on the road and at work… it was better for her to control her curiosity than her anxiety; if he definitely wouldn't check his personal cell phone before noon… ..And he just wished he could fulfill it.  
Luke woke up late that morning it was more than 10 a.m. he needed him ... Roxi was not with him so he did not drag him on his daily morning walk and was grateful for that, his first move when he woke up and being in his bed was still to check the phone checking that he had no return message from Penelope she had not seen the message and that misplaced him a bit but he understood at that time she would be in full working hours, she had to calm down and wait. He got ready to wash up, he prepared breakfast, one very loaded did not want to think about preparing lunch later so he was inspired to prepare his food, nothing like a good rest to raise his spirits, he played music from his Puerto Rican roots and decided to enjoy it Later, she would pick up her friend at her caregiver's house and take her for a walk in the park. She wanted to enjoy a good book and her time with her.  
Penelope had just finished her lunch, she was grateful to life for finding that healthy food restaurant, it was the most exquisite food her palate had ever tasted, something wonderful that the small city had, and it was also very close to the office, it was the cherry of the Pie thought with a slight smile of satisfaction. Her clock read 1:20 pm. She was sitting resting in her big and comfortable chair. She took the phone out of her bag. She found messages from Jennifer, Tara, other people and him.  
Jennifer apologized for not having responded to her calls the day before and sent her an audio with the greetings of her godson the boy yelled at her that he missed her and how much he loved her, he responded quickly with a lot of kisses and promising him that the weekend I would kidnap him to take giant ice creams. Tara informed him that she had sent him additional information on the investigation of the behavior of animals in captivity ... a colleague friend of hers had provided it and considered it important for his project, thanked him for the gesture and forwarded it to his work team would later review it with them, ignored the other 7 messages and concentrated on the one that interested her, I doubt just a second before opening it I was waiting and if she was sincere a little fearful, she opened it, a shine was reflected in his eyes and a big smile appeared on his lips perfectly made up with crimson red.  
HELLO GIRL, COULD I TELL YOU AT DINNER, WILL WE EAT?  
MISS YOU…."  
Oh my God, not only did she ask her to confirm her appointment, she had returned control of the situation and this time she would use it, she also told her that she missed her oh my God she missed her! And what could she say to that that did not reveal her feelings. Luke knew how to play his cards… but she was the queen, yes the queen…. She would call him later, now she had to go back to work and think about balancing her schedule.  
Luke was sitting in the park with a book in hand concentrating on his reading, Roxi was happy in the dog games, it was after 5 in the afternoon the sun was at its peak giving them a special feeling, it was a true miracle that climate in Virginia at that time of year so they had to take advantage of it, she took the phone out of her pants to check the messages but nothing about her yet, she had noticed around 2:00 PM that she had already seen the message ... she was just waiting for the one back …. From what he saw Penelope was going to have him intrigued for a while longer, and if things prospered she would make him pay very sweetly.  
It was Thursday afternoon, the hours passed quickly and she was organizing her bag to return home when she remembered that she had to go to the advertising office, she had received a sample of the images for the campaign and had to review them, how could she happen ... . I knew it very well, after reading Luke's message, he worked at half machine every 5 min. He mentally returned to the content of the text and also returned to reality that made him lose a lot of time and now he saw the consequences, he just hoped that Liam was still in the office…… and so it was, Liam was a tall man with cream-white skin, straight black hair and beautiful and incredible green eyes with an Italian accent that made him much more attractive than he was, he was a very handsome and charming man And that was demonstrated by the amount of sighs that she always raised when passing, she had her own work fan club in which she was of course but without obvious manifestation like the other women, she was about 40 years old or a little older, she was kind, respectful and a great professional from what I could see with the little contact I had had with him, They were in the same range only in different areas but their departments definitely crossed a lot and this was one of those moments she thought as she arrived at her office, She greeted the man sitting at her desk in a simple but formal way, excusing herself for the time when I was going to see him understanding that it was his turn to leave, to which the man reduced importance and gave him a welcoming smile, they reviewed some images with potential to stay, he extended an hour and a half more than his time, however it was not something totally bad only until he remembered that he had a long way to go to return home and he had to do it immediately, he said goodbye to the handsome man, agreeing to meet again tomorrow but with the whole team.  
She got in her car and went home having a good trip, little agitated thank God and arriving at about 9 PM, she prepared something quick to eat, took a shower, put on her nightwear, a large one piece of Zebra very comfortable, she told herself, she went to bed it was almost 11 at night very late to call the man who stole her sleep, she knew that if she did, she would not stop talking and tomorrow she had a meeting with the service providers at 9 AM and now he had to add the board with his team and Liam's… I would definitely not call him tonight but if I would send him a text… .Have what he thought.  
Luke came from his walk very calm and relaxed, which makes a book and a good atmosphere, he thought aloud and Roxi barked as he nodded Luke laughed out loud and added the company to his list for the day, he prepared food for both tonight they would broadcast a game of the NBA which I was interested in seeing unless something came up and that something had a name and a big smile, But it was only a fleeting thought that I dismissed as soon as it occurred, he told himself that he would not pressure her and that everything should come up depending on what she wanted, but by God how long would this woman take? He checked his cell phone at 8 PM to check that he had no message from her, he settled on his bed getting ready to watch the game, placing the phone next to his pillow.  
Three hours later, when he was about to go to bed, discouraged because the team that was going lost him without justification and because he had not received any news from Penelope, he saw that the screen of his cell phone lit up and felt a soft bit that he sent to his body a strong shock made him laugh and shake his head in anticipation. It was a message from Penelope, she opened it and just read.  
"HELLO LUKE ..... SO YOU MISSED ME?"  
Her smile widened much more, that woman was definitely unique, and she responded as she once did in the past.  
"YES, OF COURSE AND YOU KNOW IT" ……  
The woman saw it right away, began to write and left it and then again wrote to erase it again, that pattern was repeated a few times before receiving her response, which caused her amusement, knew that she was nervous, possibly rambling out loud.  
“I DON'T WANT YOU TO SUFFER… .. CHOOSE YOUR SITE,  
TOMORROW AT 8 PM ”.  
Bingo ... Luke was euphoric, his mind only thinking that tomorrow at that time he expected to still be with Penelope, the woman who had kept him on his head for more than four years.  
I PICK YOU UP AT HOME "? She waited for an answer for more than twenty minutes, imagined that she had fallen asleep when the screen came back on, "DON'T WORRY I'M GETTING THERE, JUST PASS ME THE ADDRESS. I'M EXHAUSTED, GOOD NIGHT…. "  
He responded knowing that it was already deep, "YOU WILL HAVE IT WITHOUT FAILURE, THAT YOU REST AHHHH I HOPE YOU DREAM WITH ME ..."  
As he would with her, although the latter has not been written. Luke was definitely going to sleep happily if he could, he had become more daring, more risky when talking to her, after he was aware that they would no longer work together the blindfold had fallen off, he could accept that all this time he had been trapped by her from the first moment even being in a relationship with a wonderful woman like Lisa, He knew that deep down his mind always returned to Penelope and he was aware that in the end Lisa knew that there was another woman, not who, but he definitely knew the last thing he had said to her before taking the suitcases out of the house was to fight for his happiness, that he would risk himself if he really loved her and yet he let several months pass by letting her believe that he was still with Lisa.


	4. QUOTE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally the day came, all the doubts and fears left, there was only that night, that space, that moment in which for her he was no longer her rookie and in which for him she was no longer the technical analyst, his coworker, now they were just two people who knew each other well and wanted to get to know each other better

Penelope woke up very early, even before the alarm went off, did her cleaning routine and got ready for her day, she would have her breakfast at the office, she was willing to get as far ahead as possible in her work, she needed time and would take advantage of every minute of the day, he drove with that thought and arrived at the company much earlier, he got ready to prepare his meeting, by the time the time came he had everything organized he had two more members of his team to develop it, everything went very well the suppliers came out very enthusiastic and with great expectations, After that, she spoke with her team and asked them to collaborate with the meeting they had with the advertising area. She needed everyone to be available before the end of lunch, she knew that it was not good for them to sacrifice part of their time and less if It was not a priority but she came from a job where she spent days without going home to do it well and today she had to do something for herself, for her life and she does not know if she was putting a lot of expectations on today's appointment, but she was considering The possibility of settling down outside with Luke or with another person was no longer within the bubble that she had built around her and her team, there were many more things and she was willing to conquer them and if it was with Luke by her side much better.  
Luke opened his eyes to a new day, he took his cell phone to check Penelope's response but found that he had not seen the previous message, he thought about sending her a good morning, but he corrected himself right away, the woman must be in a hurry getting ready, he reminded himself that she had to commute an hour or more back and forth so he would leave her alone for a while.  
He got ready to go out on his walk taking his faithful friend with him, he decided that he had to burn a lot of calories to reduce the tension he had from the meeting tonight, he did not remember the last time he felt like this, he looked like a teenage boy in his first date, his whole body emanated nerves expectation he was going crazy ... his walk took two hours he got home to bathe, change and decided to go shopping, he went to the supermarket bought strawberries blueberries nuts and two bottles of red wine and a bottle of tequila knew she liked it, it's not that he intended to get her drunk, it's more, I didn't even know if she'd agree to go home after dinner, only time would tell but I wanted to be prepared so I bought a bouquet of roses to put in a vase on his living room table, later at home he was undecided whether to shave or keep the bushy hair covering his face in the end he decided to leave it and I just aligned it a little, he tried to have it equal to the day they met when he was sure he had impressed her ...... He sent a message to Penelope indicating the place, he knew he would like he did not know him personally but Matt He recommended it to him, he had taken Kristy there to celebrate their wedding anniversary and she had literally gone crazy, that was what his friend had told him, of all the BAU team Matt was the only one who knew about her plans, he had discovered his attraction to the blonde Almost immediately he joined the team, according to him you could tell from leagues, so he leaned on him to surprise her, he knew that no one else on the team knew about his date with Penelope knew them all very well and would notice some strange behavior especially in Jennifer and Dave but it was not like that, surprisingly she had not said anything to her friends which surprised her. Penelope was not well known for keeping secrets, in fact she was the subject of several jokes when they worked together because of it, so she did not know what to think, she made a mental note of what to ask her at dinner.  
He was listening to music from his roots, the salsa injected him with vitality and energy, he did the cleaning of the apartment he knew he had to keep distracting his mind, he changed the sheets on his bed, he chose the outfit for the night and selected his favorite cologne, he had all ready had put the wine and tequila to refrigerate. His house smelled deliciously of roses and it was 5 pm, he was relaxed watching sports just waiting for the time for the shower, then his phone rang and it was Roxi's caretaker who found out the time he would come to pick her up, he confirmed that at 6:30 PM would be fine, I'd have enough time to get to the restaurant.  
Her new work team was ready and prepared at the indicated time, when Liam arrived with his assistants they had practically already advanced 40% of the plan, so the committee moved much faster than she expected; She received a message at around 3 PM and everyone noticed the change in her behavior, Penelope had not checked her phone all day giving priority to her work, however she was about to end her day at the office and she had to know what place would take her to accommodate her outfit, it was then that she read the message from the night before, where he asked her to dream about him, she snickered because he didn't have to ask for that, she had been dreaming of him many nights in these four more years times he would have liked, then he read the name of the site and his jaw dropped in surprise and it was evident to everyone that at that time he was not in the meeting, his mind was traveling to another place, thanks to his colleagues who covered it I did not pass a sentence in front of the members of the advertising area, she recovered immediately and He returned to the exhibition of the campaign, although without stopping to think that if he took her to dinner at BAR MADISON, he was definitely showing that he was interested in her, he did not know the place, but he had heard very well spoken of him, it was not nothing economic and its warm and romantic atmosphere had a lot of followers, yes, definitely something told her that Luke was serious and she had to be up to the task; She mentally told herself that she would not have more than 3 glasses of wine for her sake, she just hoped the emotion would not betray her.  
At 4 PM she was ready to go as well as her team and for that reason they were happy she released them two hours before in gratitude for the lunch hour she stole and it was Friday and all the work was practically ready, she said goodbye to her collaborators Wishing them a good weekend, three went out together with her and the other two stayed to finalize details of their responsibilities, in the parking lot they met again with Liam who was on his way out and congratulated her on her progress and contribution to the campaign, going up to his car he raised his hand in the form of farewell with a wide smile, to which she responded with a nod, her companions annoyed her saying that there was a lot of attraction in the environment that you could almost touch, she simply responded with a loud laugh driving away to get in his car and start on his way home.  
On the road, he made a mental list of what he had to do once he arrived, he had to go first to the clothing store to pick up his dress and accessories which he had bought more than a week ago when he was not even sure that he would go out with him. Incredibly attractive Latino man, then he would go to the hairdresser and finally go home to get ready, he just wished he didn't have Luke waiting too long at the restaurant.  
Incredibly Luke had fallen asleep deeply, he did not know how, the insistent knock at the door brought him out of his lethargy, he woke up alert, he looked with wide eyes looking for the time praying to heaven it was not 8 at night, I hear that They called him and he recognized the voice of Roxi's caretaker, he got up to get dressed again and went out to attend to the young woman who seemed desperate to leave, he excused himself for the delay and explained that he had fallen asleep and that he had saved the Life, the young woman did not understand what he was referring to but accepted the leashes of the pet that was already prepared, and leaving him to say goodbye to his owner, she left the house thinking that he was a little crazy. Luke looked at his watch and ran to the shower 10 minutes later he was already getting dressed, he chose some fashionable semi-classic black pants accompanied by a light gray shirt and a very elegant smooth black leather jacket, he applied his favorite lotion that did not It was the same one from work and that she knew very well, he took one of the bottles of wine from his refrigerator and took it with him, if she did not come to his house it was possible that he would go to hers, he smiled at her idea and He thought that they were a couple of adults to assume the consequences of their actions and they had known each other for a long time, although he did not want to force things between them, much less anticipate something that was not mutual, he took the bottle and went in search of Her car had to be there before 8:00, she didn't want to arrive after her or worse, lose the reservation, she hoped that the road would be little traveled but deep down she knew it was a dream, even so, she started her vehicle and accelerated immediately on the way to BAR MADISON.  
Penelope was already ready for the shower, thank heaven everything had gone well for her, on her king-size bed lay the beautiful dress with a crossover neckline from Letelier de la moda. Black and with a chiffon skirt with a red flower print that make it very cheerful but delicate, I discard the idea of wearing a dress with a wide range of colors like most of her wardrobe because the site and the occasion deserved something else something unique and this black dress with that beautiful and sexy neckline had caught her combined with those red flowers that matched the high stiletto sandals with straps tied a little above the ankle that she would wear tonight, if her poor feet later killed her , she would use black lingerie with red lace all combined and very attractive, she did not know what she liked more if her dress or her underwear what she did know is that the combination of both would make her feel safe, beautiful and sexy in the eyes of any man, although she was only interested in Luke liking him, she would find out later what might happen after dinner, she was nervous in anticipation, she forced herself to stop thinking and went into her bathroom to shower and put on makeup… an hour later she was ready to apply a little perfume in strategic places, she looked at herself again in the mirror, being delighted with the result, she looked really beautiful; In the end, she decided not to take her car and ask for a taxi to get to the place, she had not accepted him to pass by her precisely because if she was late, he would lose the reservation, in addition, it gave him the option of bringing her back to his home if he He wanted it that way and not that it was because he felt obliged by the fact of having arrived with him, when the taxi arrived she was already ready at the door, the way to the restaurant would take about 15 minutes hoping that there is not so much traffic, it was already 8 o'clock God would be late… ..Well, but an interesting woman makes herself wait that was said to lessen the nerves that attacked her.  
Luke arrived at 8:05 PM, just the time to secure the reservation, the table that had been assigned to him was spectacular and the charming place already in case the place had met his expectations was attended by a beautiful waitress named Andrea she would be in charge of his service, the young brunette was very kind and he felt that a little flirtatious, she shamelessly looked at his hands making sure he was not wearing a ring and gave him a big smile, asked him for a drink of whiskey on the rocks to calm his nerves, his hands were shaking with his own will to check his phone and see if he had messages from Penelope, but he did not do it it was only 8:11 pm the reservation was for 2 hours he still had an appropriate waiting margin, he took a first drink that burned him the palate pleasantly and he prepared to wait for her.  
Penelope arrived at 8:18 PM the driver had taken a shortcut that saved him a good 20 minutes because of how the traffic was, he paid for the service and thanked the man and he wished him a good evening, he arrived at the reception of the place and she was delighted and had only seen a small part, she asked about the reservation in the name of Luke Alvez and the handsome young man at the reception called the assigned waitress and informed her that Mr. Alvez was already at the table, the young woman arrived at her I find but notice a fake smile on her, she did not know how to explain it in her eyes, she saw some annoyance or envy, she did not know but it was clear that it had not been to her liking, the waitress leads her to the table where he was and since she entered the living room could feel the fire of his beautiful brown eyes running through her entire, which made her cheeks stain red and she swallowed hard, her breathing was getting out of control ohhh by God he looked so handsome, their gazes crossed and in both rooms he defiance, passion and attraction, she arches an eyebrow with a big smile when she arrives and he gets up and takes and kisses her hand without taking his eyes off her, taking longer than allowed his lips on the back of her hand, sending her pure electricity All over your body.


	5. DINNER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you do not believe that what you have been dreaming and waiting for for so long, it comes true and you realize that what you are living is much better than what you had imagined, you reproach yourself for not having the courage before to take what you you wanted.

Luke was pleasantly surprised I never imagine Penelope dressed in dark tones and less with that style she looked really beautiful drawing the attention of several diners who were accompanied, he imagines him by their partners, he looked up when she entered the place something pushed him to do it The magnetism that she radiated had him dominated, he rose slowly to receive her but instinctively lick her lips, he looked into her eyes and saw a charming power challenging him, when she reached him he took his hand and kissed her, taking the time enough to feel her tremble at the touch and knew immediately that he was lost in her.

They sat at the elegant table, and she ordered a margarita as an aperitif and he other sip of whiskey the waitress took her order and walked away leaving them alone in their bubble. Luke was the first to speak, "you look amazing", she looks at him mischievously thanks him and asks "do you like what you see?" He laughed softly and said "I absolutely like everything", she felt powerful and more now, that she saw how Luke was absorbed in her, she never thought that she could awaken this feeling in a man as attractive as him, she was aware of his masculinity and how many times without trying he attracted women of all ages, he is the type of man who would not worry about not having someone to go out with or with whom to be with for a weekend or the whole week women rained on him like rice, but he also knew his feelings and knew that he was a very reserved, lonely, protective and incredibly loyal person, having this man in front of her looking at her as he was looking at her gave her the strength to take risks and the certainty that he liked her she, The young waitress arrived with the drinks and interrupted the wordless communication that had been established between them, they both laughed knowing that they looked like silly teenagers, they put coquetry aside when they asked for dinner, she was a vegetarian and the too carnivore she thought but did not express it out loud.

Luke wanted to know everything about his new job, his colleagues the facilities in short, everything that involved his new stage, he wanted to know if he was feeling well and how he was leading the separation from the team, she was delighted that he wanted to know of his well-being so he told him as much as he could, he spent more time explaining the personalities of his new companions and he made it clear that he was happy with his new challenge, which he liked a lot. She did not want to touch on topics that involved feelings at dinner and she would leave that for later, she was also intrigued by how her friends were managing her game and how they were doing with the new technique in system, she knew something about Jennifer and Emily but wanted to hear it from him, so he listened carefully to every word he said to her, he knew of Anita's quality and innocence and he hoped that the latter would not get in the way of his work, when he recommended her as his replacement he knew that she was very intelligent and responsible, but not He thought about his sensitivity and everything that he would have to face on those screens, he hoped from the heart that Anita would carry out her work, both for her and for her friends.

Luke told her how difficult the last case had been only a couple of days before She knew that feeling of helplessness, sadness and anger was one of the reasons for moving away, but she knows that her family has an incredible shell of love that feeds them and helps them to get out of the house gap, they ate very lively both satisfied with the menu it was definitely worth every penny the cost, Penelope asked for dessert chocolate mus on vanilla cookie with cranberry sauce Luke for his part drank only strong and bitter coffee he needed something to place his feet on the ground because he was in heaven since the impertinent woman began to taste her dessert, She believed that the way she was eating it would kill him, each spoon that she brought to her mouth provoked it and she had fun with it, and it turned out, the taste of the coffee located him and calmed him down by lowering his alcohol levels; The reservation time was running out, so he asked for the bill and gave a generous tip to the young waitress who had served them, this time she smiled more out of gratitude than for any other reason, however, she wrote down on the payment receipt her name and telephone number, which meant to the young woman a reproachful look from her blonde companion; It was almost 10 pm the night was young and promised many things, Luke told Penelope while they took their coats at the reception of the place that in the next room a Disco bar was available I ask him if he would like them to be, surprisingly the Her response was quick and negative, he was stunned and surprised, so much that his eyes expressed his confusion, his brain began to work quickly on her words, what had happened? What had I done wrong for Penelope to end the date so quickly? I did not understand what was happening, I felt that I was thinking so hard that I could even hear him, Penelope noticed immediately that he had gone another way, his confusion and guilt were reflected in his beautiful eyes now sad and confused, He acted on instinct He took his hand and told him in a strong and determined voice that he knew a better place and urged him to leave the restaurant quickly, Luke returned from the place where he had gone in his head, again his expression was of confusion but now also of happiness that he She noticed on his face as he gave her one of his killer smiles, God he looked so good, she thought.

They had already reached the place where the car park would deliver the vehicle to them and without thinking twice he approached him and gave him a soft and quick kiss on the lips thanking him for the dinner; He saw in slow motion when the blonde woman approached and kissed him, well it was really a slight brush of her lips but it had made him bend his knees and accelerate his pulse, he heard in the distance a thank you for dinner and he could only answering “it was a real pleasure”, they were so focused on each other that they did not listen when the young man arrived with his car and they only noticed when the horn sounded; Opening the door for her to enter and bending down to help her with the seat belt he could better feel her perfume and knew that from now on that would be his favorite, of course only when he was in her shoes, he closed the door and walked around the car without stopping smiling, he took his place and started the car, "where?" he asked and Penelope just took the GPS and entered the address of the place where they would go when the device visualized the name of the place, her eyes danced in surprise and amusement, she only looked straight ahead and could not hide her smile.


End file.
